St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 47

spectator ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH April 2d, 1974 5D Auspicious Maiden Voyage -i mn miia ii iih in.iiin mmiihiimiiii i piimm l.hl By Dick Richmond Of the Post-Dispatch Staff DEUCES WILD JUDGING BY THE crowds at rock concerts, an older head might guess that young people have a taste only for volume. But it's not true. The softer music of performers such as Gordon Lightfoot, John Denver and Seals Crofts have large followings, too. Much smaller but no less enthusiastic are the young turnouts for jazz notables such as Dave Brubeck, Maynard Ferguson and the Paul Winter Consort.

Accordingly it isn't often that a person will find a young band trying its hand at the medium. But there is one. It's called Maiden Voyage and features Gary Scott on electric piano, guitar and trumpet; Joe Baker on Fender bass; Alan Oxenhandler on guitar and drums; Jerry Dubinsky on drums and guitar, and Pat, Graney on flute and alto sax. Scott and Oxenhandler share the lead vocals. The others sing harmony.

I heard them do othei material such as Stevie Wonder's "Sunshine of My Life" and Elton John's "Yellow Brick Road," but every chance they got they moved back to jazz. One of Musicians on a Maiden Voyage Dondino iSlltillllli night sounds at the movies liil en packed around the front row tables glued on his hairy chest. And they get a good look at it because his skin-tight costumes are cut out from the navel up. However, Dondino is not just another hairy chest. He's a fine performer with a growling vocal style that seems to run from Louis Prima to Tony Bennett to Tom Jones to his own, which booms enough to ripple the sail on the Viking ship-shaped bar.

Mark will be in the Norseman, South Lindbergh Boulevard at U.S. 66, through tomorrow. No cover, no minimum. Rick Jeffers (left) and Chuck Singleton By Joe Pollack Of the Post-Dispatch Staff The Sugar land Express' "THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS" is a strange motion picture. It begins with a determined Goldie Hawn bent on using all of her few feminine wiles to persuade her hus- and closes at 4 a.m.

The Jeffrey-Singleton Show will be there through Sunday. Cover Friday and Saturday is $2. Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday it's $1. There is no cover for women on Tuesday and Thursday. The lounge is closed Mondays.

NORSEMAN If a person were casting for a pirate movie, darkly handsome Dondino of Mark probably would win the job hands down. He looks the part. His dark, bushy hair, brooding eyes and black mustache give him a masculine sex appeal that keeps the eyes of the wom that has its own lighting director. His partners on the front line are Chuck Singleton, who has a nice way with a blues song, and Sherry Taylor, who would add to a show even if she couldn't sing and dance. She has the look of innocent sensuous-ness about her.

Not everything they do is supercharged, but enough for the insomniacs who frequent Alexander's late, late showroom. The Red, Carpet opens at 10 p.m. "ELKS DINNER THEATRE I band to escape from prison so that they can track down and recover their child before it is lost to them forever in a maze of adoption offices and welfare agencies. Their technique is ill-conceived, badly handled and com 20th Market Every Sat. J.

Sun. thru May Herts Gardener'! "A THOUSAND CLOWNS" Curtain Tim 8:30 6:30 Sun. $7.50 Per Person Show Only $3.00 CiR 621-MOO N7-M79 mimflm Opan To Tha Public TONIGHT 8:00 P.M. Thru Apr. 27, Nights 8:00 Mats.

Sat. Sun. 2 p.m. Opry's new auditorium featured in "COUNTRY COMES HOME" starring JOHNNY CASH on KSD-TV April'26 at 9 p.m. Visit the Grand Ole Opry's beautiful new auditorium on our Nashville Tours LEAVING JUNE 7, JUNE 28 and JULY 26 You'll see the famous Grand Old Opry show from reserved seats in the beautiful new auditorium.

You'll go backstage and behind the scenes; see the homes of top stars; visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. You'll enjoy two nights and three days in the world's Country-Western Capitol visit the Hermitage, the magnificent mansion of President Andrew Jackson. And return to St. Louis via the scenic Kentucky Lake Region. All for $99 per person, twin occupancy.

Bach CANTATA 21 Haydn LORD NELSON MASS James Paul, Conductor Bach Festival Chorus and Orchestra Susan Larson, Soprano Carolyn Hackman, Alto Gordon, Tenor Dale Moore, Baritone APRIL p.m. POWELL SYMPHONY HALL Tickets: $2.00, $3.50, $4.50, $5.00, $5.50, $6.50 Bach Society 607 N. Grand, 63103, Powell Symphony Hall 718 N. Grand 63103; Famous-Barr Stores; Stix Crestwood, Westroads; SlUEdwardsville; Busch Memorial Center SLU. Claudette Colbert in per win A on "A Community of Two new comedy by Jerome Chodorov iiso tUrnng George Gaynes the best examples of what I heard them do was a stylized version of the Beatle hit "Eleanor Rigby," which was pretty much dominated by Graney's excellent flute.

Behind him, beating out time for every note were Oxenhandler on congas and Dubinsky on drums. Chick Corea's "Spain" also was pretty much flute and percussion to set up the hand-clapping rhythm for the enthusiastic crowd in the room. However, Scott's piano had much more to sy on this number. In a choice between the Frank Sinatra version of "September of My and the jazzier Lou Rawls one, they picked Rawls Oxenhandler, who did the singing on this, does not have the vocal capability of Rawls, but then Rawls can't play drums like the young St. Louisan.

Sergio Mendes and Brasil 77 also went on a Maiden Voyage and did not suffer from the trip. The band will be in Deuces Wild, Colony Hotel, Clayton, for another two weeks. No cover, no minimum. RED CARPET CAHOKIA High-energy music is probably the best way to describe the Jeffrey-Singleton Show at Kirby Alexander's Red Carpet Lounge in Cahokia. There is as much dancing as singing and the choreography is as charged as the vocals.

But that was the intention of Rick Jeffers, the leader of the eight-member troupe. Jeffers, who has that perpetual appearance of being surprised he's onstage, received his basic training with the recording group, The Ides of March, and more recently with the Sheffields. He's show oriented. In fact this is the only band I've come upon Mailbag Bulletins THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX is not a lady, as most people believe. The model for one of the world's best known monuments was a male baboon, sacred in ancient times.

The creature is no longer found in Egypt. ONLY A MAN in love with a woman can be married to her 50 years and still find her a mystery. But that doesn't make him the dumbest man in his neighborhood. It makes him the richest. I INSTANTLY like any wife if I see her publicly thumb her nose at her husband behind his back when he makes a pompous remark.

THE AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF MISSOURI AUTO CLUB TOURS, 3917 Lmdell St. Louis, Mo, 63108 PHONE (314) 533-2233, EXT. 345 1 Convenient Box Offices Anencon Theatre 10 to 8 30 p.m. Alt Stt and Famous Branch Stores, encpt Jomestown Mall and St Clou 10 to 5. I am interested in the Nashville-Grand Ole Opry Tours.

Name Grab Your Partner or Come Alone EVERYONE IS WELCOME. Tour includes deluxe motor coach, sightseeing fees, baggage handling tips and taxes, superior accommodations, full course luncheon each day and one banquet dinner. Address Telephone City State Zip Licensed and Bonded ICCMC 130171 pletely foolish, yet effective, and one feels a certain kinship for this strange child-woman. For a period of time, Miss Hawn is totally sympathetic. There is a panicky lostness, a strange desperation to the character, and the emotions capture a viewer in the same way that she has captured husband William Atherton and highway patrolman Michael Sacks.

Then, somewhere along the way, everything changes, but not for the better. The young couple begin to believe their newspaper clippings and the image of themselves that the see on television, and instead of a pair of lost kids they see hardened and desperate criminals in the mirror of the media. At that point, the picture stops being fun and becomes a slowly developing horror story, moving to an eventual and unrealistic climax with the stolidity and the implacable power of a glacier. Maybe that's what young director Steven Spielberg, making his first feature film after several years in television, had in mind, but I don't think so. The feeling is that the characters of the early going are the real ones, and that Spielberg tried to delay the climax of the film as long as possible, then kind of threw up his hands and let nature, the police, the media and the innate savagery of man take over.

There are many moments of great pleasure in "The Sugarland Express." Cinematographer Vilmis Zsigmond is superb, and his pictures of miles and miles of police cars undulating across the landscape like a mammoth earthworm are sheer beauty. Carey Loftin's action sequences of the police cars are exciting and realistic. Miss Hawn is, in many scenes, sheer perfection. When she removes her chewing gum to make love, the gesture has a matchless spontaneity, and when she ponders a trading stamp catalogue in the midst of the slow-motion chase, the mood is just right. On the other hand, her hysteria tends to wear heavily on the nerves.

Atherton, as the husband, is a perfect foil, and Sacks, so often lost as the hero of "Slaughterhouse-Five," is even more lost in the police car with the couple. Ben Johnson, always the professional, is fine as the leader of the posse, and the battle within him between retribution and forgiveness is excellent. Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins wrote the screenplay, and there are many delightful mements, including a running gag involving the pushiness of television news crews. Spielberg shows a great deal of directorial talent, and it's a shame that he let his picture disintegrate at the end, instead of providing something a little more natural, even if it would be more frustrating because of a lack of clarity between good guys and bad guys. As it is, there are just live guys and dead guys.

(Running time: 1 hour, 49 minutes. Rating, PG. At the DES PERES, ELLISVILLE, FAIRVIEW, MARK TWAIN, NORTHLAND, ST. ANN) fThe Groove Tube' THE INANITIES of most television are so felf-satiri-cal thai there isn't much need to take pot shots at the DINNER THEATRE SAVE GAS 1 20 MIN. WHEN DRIVING FROM CITY HwysO THE BARN NOW THRU MAY 19 GERALD CASTELLO ROBERT THORSQN HERE "LIES" 'rrsuz PinF WITH GOLDIE.

ON THE WILDEST, WACKIEST, EST, JEREMY TROY A HILARIOUS COMEDY Manchester Rood GOONtbl I Kir tuu ll EVER TAKE! YUU Dinner Show J9, Sat Jll thebarn Scheduled Wed. Sun. Matinees S8. mllof wt of ftaiKhaitar ft Clarksan til. WON'T BE ALONE! I I Whan driving from tho city may wo sua 77 hr.

naHit raoulrod for ax- gait taking HWT. 40 to Clark ion Rd. to OAii changes. No caslt refunds, avoid tho Manchattor traffic slow-down. EXX3 THE "HAPPY PEOPLE" PLACE! (AND A FEW OLD GROUCHES) JL- thru Saturday-1 TOP CAT and KITTENS FEATURING GARY HALL AN ENJOYABLE SHOW AND LOTS OF DANCING SENATE LOUNGE She stoged a jail break and kidnapped a cop.

And with 600 troopers on her tail, the rest of the country cheered her on. medium. It generally succeeds by itself. For those who would like to belabor the point, "The Groove Tube" is an admirable satire, hilarious for the most part even when it is very obvious, and a handful of slips into the distasteful 4 3423 N. LINDBERGH (li Mile South of Northwest Plaza) JW 8:30 'til closing Monday thru Saturday STARTSN jjJfiLg i The hestra aroaue KJrc Saturday April 27 at 8:30 well Symphony Hall I DINNER THEATRE LAKE SAINT LOUIS 18 Minutss WMt of 1-344 an 1-70 or 1-40 NOW THROUGH MAY 19 "The Owl and the Pussycat" Calf now for reservations Toll Free 739-3550 or 725-7013 SUN.

DINNER PUT $10 FRL SAT. $12. SCHEDULED WED. MATINESS THE SUGARLAND ALEXANDER SCHNEIDER, Conductor ROLAND PANDOLFI and CARL SCHIEBLER, French Horns THOMAS PAUL, Bass University of Missouri Singers Ronald Arnatt, Director EXPRESS can be overlooked. Ken Shapiro's film, really a collection of sketches, works over television from commercials to kiddie shows, with clever word plays, some excellent animation and most important, the knowledge of knowing when to stop before the rapier dulls.

Shapiro, who wrote the material in collaboration with Lane Sarasohn, directed and produced and acts in many of the sketches. With the exception of a too-long sequence about a pair of marijuana dealers, he hits target every time. For example, Shapiro tells you why Barbie and Ken have an unsatisfactory marriage, gets his teeth into toothpaste commercials and, with the help of brilliant work by Chevy Chase, shows what happens when the fingers do the walking. The take-off on television news is probably the high point of the film, with a parody on the war zones and a brilliant few moments when the anchor man has to sit and sit and wait and wait as the camera eye envelops him. A sports report on the internatonal sex Olympics is outstanding, with the commentary a delightful piece of work and the film, an old stag loop, going scratchy to the tune of "Please Stand By" at crucial mements.

A kitchen scene is hilariously ridiculous. Much of Shapiro's work is bawdy, like the public service commercial and the segment when Ko-Ko the clown sends the "big people" out of the room so that he can read a requested passage from "Fanny Hill" to his audience of children, but he generally keeps within the bounds of taste. He slips at times, but then, so does the medium he is satirizing. (Running time: 1 hour, 14 minutes. Rating, R.

AT THE FINE ARTS) DL IIMI Concerto for Two Horns Cantata No. 56. "Ich will den iSl RUNNER THEIT Ml uluuuhii 1 Ballwin Plaza Kreustah rerne trajien VIVALDI BACH STRAUSS LEIIAR IIYDN on Mvnchftf Rood 6 MMm Wot oM-144 NOW PLAYING "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN" I WWW I eOAS 7 30. 9 30 SAI i 30 7 30 30 SUN I 30 3 30 5 30 7 30 9 30 Fl 1 SAT 30 25-10 25 SUN 2 00 MON THUDS 7 00 9 00 OAIIY I 30. 3 30.

5 30. 7 JO. 9 30 Jl 00 TH START 1ST SHOW tXC SAT I SUN Symphony No. 86 in Major TICKETS: $5.00, $4.00, $2.50 JAY YIM BARNEY HIMES Don? fofl yaw frfwtdi Hi anrfine Fabulous Owner OeUzhtful Show ma WEEKDAYS 7 30. 9 30 SAT SUN.

I JO, 3 30. 5 30, 7 30. 9 30 SI 00 Til I 30 SAT ONIY DAIIY I 30. 3 30. 5 30, 7 30 9 10 SI 00 TH 2 00 EVERY DAY BOX OFFICES: Powell Symphony Hall, 718 N.

Grand 534-1700; all Famous-Barr Co. Stores; Stix, Boer Fuller Crestwood, Westroads, River Roods, Jomestown; Busch Memorial Center, St. Louis University; University Center, SIU Edwordsville; Union Clothing, Belleville; American National Banli, Gronite City; The Red Brick. WEEKDAYS 7 30. 9 30 SAT 30, 7 30, 9 30 SUN I 30 3 30 5 30.

7 30 9 30 rc i ATIONS kJI 1 1 1 1-I I XX.